Yesterday I went to Carlsbad Caverns with my parents, my brother, and the kids. When we got there we split up, with my mom and brother going on a guided tour and the rest of us fending for ourselves. So we take off down the path into the "Big Room", and about halfway through there was a turnoff where we could either take a shortcut or continue the long way around the caverns. We wanted to take the long way, but there was a sign that said it was closed. We asked a friendly ranger why it was closed, but he didn't know so he got on his ranger phone and called to find out. In the meantime, we were standing there waiting by the closed sign and another ranger comes down the path and announces that the reason the path is closed is because someone pooped on the trail and he has to clean it up. In addition, it's dark in there so a bunch of people stepped in it and tracked it around. He seemed pretty bitter about the whole situation and I can't say I blame him. Well anyway, we ended up walking the wrong way (towards the poop in the opposite direction) up the trail to see the formations that were there. Interestingly enough, despite being in caverns reaching 150 feet up, the whole area really smelled like poo. My dad and I had the giggles for quite awhile, I must admit. And even though when we got to the point where the ranger was using kitty litter to clean up the poop we had to turn around and go back, making our walk way longer than it was supposed to be, it was worth it to hear a national park ranger use the word poop repeatedly. Only on vacation with my family would this happen.
The questions that this raises for me:
Who poops in a cave? I sure hope it was a kid.
How sucky would it be to walk past the sign that says it's another 45 minutes of walking until the exit and then step in poop?
How exactly does kitty litter clean up poo?
What exactly does one eat to be able to smell up a cavern?
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